1
as in to rub
to make smooth by friction
after sawing the board in half, rasp the ends to remove any splinters
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
3
as in to annoy
to disturb the peace of mind of (someone) especially by repeated disagreeable acts
the two siblings seemed intent on rasping each other for the entire car trip
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in to wear
to damage or diminish by continued friction
during the last ice age, glaciers rasped the surface, leaving the deeply scarred rock
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of rasp
Andy Swift, TVLine, 29 Sep. 2025
Unfortunately, Manchis' heroic deed left the dog with damage to her vocal chords, and her bark has shifted into a low rasp, Zarate added to the outlet.
—Rachel Raposas, PEOPLE, 9 Sep. 2025
Arricca Elin Sansone, Southern Living, 5 Aug. 2025
The Argentina legend stepped up and rasped the ball into the top corner.
—Joseph O'Sullivan, Forbes.com, 19 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for rasp
Noun
Her strong, confident country voice shone through immediately in her performance of this Judds song, with just enough rasp to really give it some edge.
—Andy Swift, TVLine, 29 Sep. 2025
Unfortunately, Manchis' heroic deed left the dog with damage to her vocal chords, and her bark has shifted into a low rasp, Zarate added to the outlet.
—Rachel Raposas, PEOPLE, 9 Sep. 2025
Verb
Thrips have rasping, sucking mouthparts.
—Arricca Elin Sansone, Southern Living, 5 Aug. 2025
The Argentina legend stepped up and rasped the ball into the top corner.
—Joseph O'Sullivan, Forbes.com, 19 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for rasp
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rasp
Noun
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Use area rugs in high-traffic areas like entryways or in spaces where kids and pets play to prevent scratches.—
Daley Quinn,
Southern Living,
14 Feb. 2026
-
There was a massive scratch on her mom's front door that wasn't there before.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
14 Feb. 2026
Verb
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As the shoot unfolds, Clyde can be found affectionately rubbing Hayley’s hand, gently playing with the wedding band on her ring finger.—
Cierra Black,
Los Angeles Times,
14 Feb. 2026
-
Wet both the pumice stone and the surface where the stain is, and gently rub the pumice over the stain in short strokes until the stain is gone.—
Karen Brewer Grossman,
Southern Living,
13 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Some Walmart shoppers could have already seen egg prices drop at their local stores, according to USA TODAY's shopping cart tracker, powered by Bright Data, a data-scraping company.—
Betty Lin-Fisher,
USA Today,
13 Feb. 2026
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Yet Garner still had to scrape to get by while her career was gaining steam in the 1990s.—
Emma Burleigh,
Fortune,
13 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Rosebush Pruning, by contrast, feels designed to annoy us and push us away.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
15 Feb. 2026
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In this short 4-minute video from CoComelon, baby JJ does a number of things that may hurt or annoy someone near him, including sitting on his sister’s painting and slurping loudly on his juice.—
Marilyn La Jeunesse,
Parents,
13 Feb. 2026
Verb
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With only 12 weeks to pull together a wardrobe for the cast, and few of Jones’s old clothing in the archives, Rowe recreated some historical looks— such as the infamous red penguin-print pajama set (a version of the pajama top is worn by Jones on a school run in the new film).—
Kati Chitrakorn,
CNN Money,
17 Feb. 2026
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The Cowboy Carter artist shared yet another set of images on Instagram from the 2026 Super Bowl, this time wearing a long brown coat with a matching hat and blue jeans.—
Mitchell Peters,
Billboard,
16 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Fennell begins on a black screen and the sound of creaks and moans.—
Amy Nicholson,
Los Angeles Times,
11 Feb. 2026
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Hearing the house creak in the recordings was important, Auerbach said.—
Audrey Gibbs,
USA Today,
1 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Wasserman’s appearance in the Epstein files document dump, despite the consensual nature of his exchanges with Maxwell, has set off a firestorm among some of the clients represented by Wasserman’s sports, marketing and entertainment units.—
Cynthia Littleton,
Variety,
15 Feb. 2026
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Many portions of the replies from the prospective applicants were redacted as confidential or proprietary information in the copies of forms and documents the district provided to the news organization, which first filed a request with the district in December but only received material Thursday.—
Skyler Swisher,
The Orlando Sentinel,
15 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Don’t let those small scratches bug you—just use a little Bar Keeper’s Friend to buff them out.—
Quincy Bulin,
Southern Living,
10 Feb. 2026
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Instead, Ladinig says Pierre Haobsh bugged Henry Han's computer with a spyware app called a keylogger.—
Natalie Morales,
CBS News,
27 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Rasp.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rasp. Accessed 19 Feb. 2026.
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